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Comptroller to act upon that recommendation, and the Attorney- 

 General and the Comptroller proceed with the appraisal, and after the 

 appraisal the exchange is effected, in which exchange the State is to 

 pay no boot whatever, no matter what the appraisal is. If the appraisal 

 shows that the State lands are worth in excess of the proposed land, 

 then the private individual pays that difference; he pays boot, but the 

 State does not. The point of this evidence we gave last night is to 

 show that the forest commission, in the administration of this law, have 

 consented to this exchange in 1890 under these circumstances, and to 

 give it point that for three years they refused to cpnsent to any 

 exchanges. Now, after the expiration of three years, 'they consent to 

 an exchange, which it is submitted is a most extraordinary proposition 

 to exchange under the most extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, 

 it may be very proper to make some new law or to change the old 

 law to prevent any such exraordinary. thing again happening. 



Mr. Fiebo. — One moment, if the committee please. It is intimated 

 by the course of the examination, that the forest commission have 

 recommended a certain exchange which is not for the benefit of the 

 State. To that end there has been put in evidence here a resolution 

 by the forest commission by which they recommend that, at least, 

 26,000 acres of the Everton company shall be taken for 12,000 acres of 

 the State lands. Now that goes to the appraisers, and the appraisers 

 report more unfavorably to the State and more favorably to the 

 Everton company. That is the situation of affairs by this report as it 

 stands to-day. No action has been taken, and what I desire to show 

 to this committee and to bring clearly before the committee is the fact 

 that the action of these commissioners in the first instance was exceed- 

 ingly favorable to the State, and that the action of the appraisers has 

 not been carried out for the reason that there is no approval 

 anywhere of the forest commission which will authorize the carrying 

 out of the action of the appraisers, but that the only assent 

 they have given is U qualified assent where there must be 26,000 

 acres given for 12,000 acres, which is clearly beneficial to the 

 State; and it is for the purpose of showing that the forest, 

 commission have acted in that single respect only in favor of 26,000 

 acres for 12,000 acres that I desire to show by the witness that they 

 have taken no other or further action in the matter. They were not 

 required to, but if they saw fit to approve of the action of these 

 appraisers, /which is less favorable to the State than their first resolu- 

 tion, they might have done so. I want to show that they have not 

 done so, and that the reason the Comptroller does not act in this 

 matter iff because the forest commission say that the terms of the 



